Fatefully Entwined
by CandlelightQuill0911
Summary: Kagome never suspected that she was anything more than normal. She'd lived an uneventful life, until one day she meets a handsome young man with shocking silver hair and beautiful golden eyes. Something about him speaks to her soul, and she finds herself inexplicably drawn to him. She learns things about herself as she's drawn into his world head over heels.
1. Chapter 1

Nobody had ever had such a perfect moment of clarity as she did in that one moment. The wind whipped her raven hair about her bruised and bloodied face as she saw every one of her cherished friends laying lifeless on the ground before her.

Her grip tightened on the small round jewel in her palm and she pursed her lips, fighting the pain that emanated from every part of her body. This battle was hard fought.

Lifting her arm in front of her she glared at the mass of pure evil that stood across the expanse of the forest clearing. She saw as Naraku's writhing tentacles pierced her lovers heart, leaving him to die a slow and painful death. His beautiful silver hair was stained red by his own blood.

The jewel called to her, and she knew what she needed to do. Closing her eyes, she focused on finding Midoriko's pure soul within, and envisioned it expanding, overtaking the youkai souls she'd been battling for centuries. The jewel glowed a bright shade of pink from between her fingers as she continued to focus on expanding the miko energy further.

Naraku smiled maliciously, "You've lost" he gloated, shoving his tentacle deeper through Inuyasha's unmoving chest. The act had been meant to rattle her, but it only streingthened her resolve. With one last burst of energy, the jewel between her palms burst into a ball of pure blinding light.

"No, you have." Was the only thing Kagome uttered, before releasing it upon Naraku's massive body.

In an instant the souls of Kagome and Midoriku fused, and their combined power of purity expanded outward like a shock wave. Naraku was obliterated, and the youkai within the shikon jewel purified.

Nothing standing in the wake of energy was left untouched. The entire clearing was left a glistening shade of pure white. Even the trees that surrounded the area were white as new fallen snow. There were no traces of the battle that had taken place there just moments ago.

All was silent. Kagome no longer felt any pain. She opened her eyes, and blinked. Everything was shrouded in a light mist, and she couldn't make out any definable landscape.

"Thank you, sweet girl" a voice echoed from behind her. She turned around slowly.

The vision of a young woman with long ebony hair dressed in ancient armour stood before her. "Midoriko" Kagome whispered. She bowed low, in respect to the ancient warrior priestess.

"Hai." The woman said with a smile. She stepped forward and placed a soft hand on Kagome's chin, and bade her look up. "It is I who should bow to you, dear girl. For you accomplished something even I could not. And now the shikon-no-tama has been completely purified".

Kagome stood there in shock. This powerful and ancient miko priestess was thanking her? This was surreal.

"I don't know what to say." Kagome admitted bashfully. Midoriko smiled kindly.

"Dear child, because you were able to finally defeat the evil youkai spirits with in the jewel, I shall allow you a single favor, granted to you in it's purist and untainted form.  
Kagome was elated. This was more than she could have hoped for.

"Your life, and the lives of your friends might have turned out much differently had they not been touched by the shikon jewel, and those that aimed to corrupt it. Therefore, I will grant that your soul, and the souls of your friends be reborn, free to live out their lives as they should have." Midoriko pulled Kagome into a warm embrace. A tear slid down Kagome's cheek.

"Thank you Midoriko." She sobbed. It was all she had ever wanted for her friends to be able to live normal lives free of Naraku and the shikon jewel.

"No dear one, thank you. Now be at peace."


	2. Chapter 2

_Italics_- thoughts/internal dialogue

8change is perspective/or scene

"Quotations"- verbal dialogue

**Bold**- Author's note

**I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who followed, and/or reviewed this fic. I never expected to get such an immediate response, and it makes me so incredibly happy! Reviews are greatly appreciated! **

**Enjoy!**

**8**

Kagome was sure that this had been the most boring date she had ever been on. Hojou was an incredibly sweet guy, but he just couldn't hold her attention with his endless stories about his job as a dental hygienist.

She was glad when they paid for dinner and were saying their good byes. "I really enjoyed myself tonight, Kagome." Hojou admitted as he held the restaurant door open for her.

Kagome smiled, hoping it wasn't too obviously forced. "It was nice, Hojou. Thank you for dinner." She pretended to busy herself by digging around in her purse for her car keys. Things were beginning to feel awkward.

Hojou smiled triumphantly. It was clear to Kagome that she was going to have to let this guy down gently, because he just wasn't reading the signs.

Kagome adjusted the scarf against the cold January air, and shifted feet. "Well, good night Hojou." All Kagome wanted right now was to put on her comfy sweats and curl up on the couch with a hot mug of peppermint tea.

"Good night, Kagome. I'll call you soon." Hojou said, as he shoved his hands into his worn brown leather jacket and melded into the crowd of bustling people on the street.

Kagome let out a sigh of relief and headed in the opposite direction for her car. Luckily it wasn't too far, just around the corner. She pushed the unlock button on the fob, opened the door, and quickly hopped in. The interior of her small car was barely warmer than outside, but at least she couldn't feel the biting wind any longer. She slid the key into the ignition, and turned the car on.

The drive back to her apartment was uneventful. She wasn't looking forward to the barrage of questions that were sure to be thrown at her by her best friend, and room mate as soon as she walked through the door.

The apartment was located on the tenth floor, and Kagome was glad she'd sprung for the indoor parking. It was a little more expensive, but in this weather it was totally worth it. Kagome parked her car in the quiet garage, and walked to the elevator. Her foot steps echoed from the cement ceiling. Nobody else seemed to be around, and for that Kagome was greatful. Elevator rides were uncomfortable enough without the awkward forced conversations with complete strangers. Stepping inside, Kagome hit the button to her floor, and prepared for the quick ride upward.

The apartment was dark when she arrived. That meant that Sango was out for the night, and the usual barrage of questions would wait for tomorrow. Kagome flipped on the light, and sure enough, Sango had left a note taped to the cork board next to the door, 'Out with Miroku, TTYL!'.

Kagome peeled off her winter coat and scarf, and threw them over the back of the couch as she made her way to her room. Her fuzzy sweat pants were calling her name, and she was glad to oblige.

Kagome wasn't usually so excited to be home after a date, but recently she'd grown tired of it. She and Hojou had been on one date about a week prior to tonight, and he'd seemed like a nice enough guy that she'd gladly agreed to a second date. She'd never expected that he might be just a little too nice. He was the equivalent of having an overly sweetened desert. At first it tastes good, but it doesn't take long for you to get a stomach ache.

Kagome pulled on her sweats, an oversized shirt, and her favorite blue and green polka dotted socks before heading back to the kitchen for some tea. She pulled the kettle from the cupboard and put it on the stove, then went digging for tea in the pantry. The box was almost empty, and she made a mental note to pick some more up the next time she went shopping.

The shrill ring from her cell broke the comfortable silence, and Kagome frowned. Digging the offending object out of her bag, she saw her best freind's name lit up on the screen.

"Hey, Sango." Kagome sighed as she answered the phone.

"So how did your date with Hojou go?" Sango didn't beat around the bushes.

"Eh, it went alright. I don't see it going anywhere, though." Kagome admitted, settling down on the overstuffed couch.

"I'm surprised. You really seemed to like him." Sango pouted.

Kagome rolled her eyes. Sango was on a mission to set her up since her boyfriend had proposed. It had been one bad date after another, and Hojou had seemed so promising after their first date.

"He was very sweet, but all he had to talk about was his work. Dental hygienists, don't make good dinner conversation. I really didn't want to hear about him assisting in a tooth extraction on a seventy year old woman." Kagome cringed at the memory.

"Eww. I'm so sorry. Eri seemed to think you'd be perfect for each other."

Kagome cringed. Eri was an old high school friend, and she was sweet, but she wasn't the best judge of men.

"And you took her word for it?" Kagome accused, "Eri is a terrible judge of character! Remember when she dated that creepy body builder want-to-be?"

"Okay, that ones on me. I should have known better." Sango admitted. "But you can't blame me for wanting you to be happy."

The kettle began to whistle from the stove, and Kagome jumped up, holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder. "And I appreciate the sentiment behind it sweetie, but if you want me to be happy you have got to stop setting me up and let me meet someone on my own." Kagome poured the steaming water over the tea and headed back to the couch, and settled in. "So what are you and Miroku up to tonight?" Kagome asked, changing the subject.

"We're just having dinner and a movie at his place." Sango answered cheerfully. "I should probably let you go. I just wanted to call and see how things went. How about you and I meet up for coffee in the morning?"

"Sure. The usual place?"

"Yeah. Oh! Miroku wants me to remind you that you promised to guest lecture for his class tomorrow." Sango said distractedly.

Sango squealed loudly into the phone, followed by a loud smacking sound. Kagome smiled. "And you tell Miroku that I'll be there early. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, great! Bye," Sango chirped before the line went dead. Kagome laughed to herself, took a sip of her tea, and was flooded by a cooling mouthful of peppermint. She would probably head to bed soon. She had a busy day lecturing Miroku's History of Eastern Religious Studies class about the traditions of a Shinto shrine. Miroku had asked her for help, since Kagome had grown up on an ancient shrine run and cared for by her family. Hopefully things went well. She'd borrowed a few relics that her grandfather had been willing to part with to show to use as visual aids. She was actually looking forward to it. Taking the last sip of tea, Kagome dropped her mug in the sink and headed to her room. A good nights rest was the perfect remedy to a bad evening.


	3. Chapter 3

It never really surprised Kagome that most people didn't believe in anything that they couldn't see or experience themselves. But Kagome wasn't most people. She still remembered the first time she'd encountered a youkai as a small child. She'd been out with her mother at the market when she noticed an elderly man sitting on a bench. At first she hadn't noticed anything strange about him, until he'd smiled at her, and she'd clearly seen his eyes flash yellow, and a long snake like tongue flick from between his lips. She'd asked her mother about what she had seen, and her mother replied "Sweet heart, sometimes we might see something that seems strange, but actually it's as normal and natural as we are." She'd learned two things that day. First, youkai were real. The second was that her mother could see them too.

As Kagome grew older she grew accustomed to seeing more people like the old man at the market. She learned they lived side by side with humans without anyone being the wiser. She also learned that she herself wasn't as normal as she appeared. She had been born with the spiritual ability to see through the charms and spells youkai used to disguise their inhuman characteristics. She also had the power to heal, and the power to purify. The world was a strange and magical place as Kagome understood it, and it gave her a sense of wonder.

The cold winter chill had finally given way to warm spring air, sweet with the scent of cheery blossoms. It was a tradition for the Higurashi family to get together and clean the house from top to bottom, and Kagome found herself recruited to reorganize the shrine gift shop storage shed with her younger brother Sota.

"Why is it so _hot_ in here?" Sota whined, dropping an old box on one of the shelves haphazardly.

"Hey, be careful with that! Grandpa would kill us if anything in here got broken. " Kagome scolded, wiping her sweat soaked forehead with her sleeve. "It's probably hot in here because there isn't any ventilation." she added. She stepped up on the small ladder and pulled a box down to be dusted.

"Most of this stuff is junk anyway. None of it's valuable." Sota grumbled, scuffing his shoe on the ground.

Kagome huffed and rolled her eyes. Her younger brother cold be such a pain sometimes. He was seven years younger than her, and at thirteen, he was starting to develop a serious case of teen age attitude.

"You shouldn't be so disrespectful. That so called 'junk' helps pay the bills." she snapped. She took a deep breath to calm down, and busied herself with another box. Most of the boxes she'd come across were mostly empty, or filled with hand made paper strips people could use to write prayers on to leave at the God tree. Occasionally they would stumble upon a box of knick-knacks that Grandpa had in the gift shop meant for tourists. Kagome pried open the fraying cardboard flaps and peered inside.

"Hey Sota, remember these?" Kagome mused, dangling one of the old key chains from her fingers. At the bottom of the short metal chain hung a pink marble and a medallion with the word "Shinkon no Tama" scrawled on it.

"Oh yeah."

Kagome smiled fondly at the memory. When she'd been about fifteen, her grandfather had given her one of these exact key chains. The story was that the Shikon no Tama was an ancient jewel with the power to grant a wish for good, or for evil. Inside the soul of an ancient priestess was trapped, keeping at bay the evil of countless demons that sought to corrupt her. Grandpa had said that the jewel would give her good luck. At the time Kagome had just brushed his story aside. Most of his ancient histories of their family shrine were bogus anyway, but now she looked back fondly on the memory.

"I think I still have the one Gramps gave me somewhere." she admitted, dropping the keychain back into the box and closing it up. "I'm going to ask mom what she wants to do with these." She picked up the box and headed for the door. It wasn't heavy, but the box was big and awkward in her hands.

"Mama, I found a box of those key chains for the shrine gift shop. Where would you like me to put them?" Kagome called. Stepping outside, she felt her foot catch on the door jam, and the box went flying as she tumbled to the ground. Kagome closed her eyes and braced herself for the fall, but instead felt herself land on something warm and soft. She opened her eyes and blinked. Someone had caught her mid fall. A tall handsome someone. Kagome felt her heart jump in her chest as she awkwardly stared up at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, setting her up on her own two feet.

Kagome blinked again, catching her bearings. She couldn't help but stare. He had the unmistakable shimmer around him that Kagome immediately recognized as a concealment spell. Outwardly he appeared to be a handsome man in his early twenties with unusually long ebony hair, but she could see right through it. As he moved to steady her on her wobbly feet Kagome could make out the naturally silver sheen of his hair, and a pair of white triangular dog ears perched on top of his head. She had the strangest urge to touch them, but thought better of it.

"Uh, yeah... I'm such a klutz." she laughed nervously, kneeling down to collect the key chains that had scattered to the ground.

"I always thought shrine maids were supposed to be graceful," he joked lightly.

He knelt down next to her and dropped one into the box, then helped her to her feet again. "Usually." Kagome mumbled, adjusting the box in her hands. Her hero stood there with his hands in his pockets. "Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked.

"I was just wondering if you could point me to the Goshimboku tree?" he asked. Kagome smiled, shifted the box, tucking it under her left arm.

"It's just down that way and down those stairs." she answered, pointing with her free hand. "Do you need me to show you?"

He shook his head and turned. "Uh, no. I think I can find it now. Thanks." he muttered, stuffing his hands back into his jeans pockets.

Kagome shrugged and headed toward the gift shop where her mother was dusting shelves.

8

Inuyasha breathed deeply as he stood at the foot of the ancient Goshimboku tree. He could remember the first time his mother had brought him here as a child. She had told him that no matter how much things changed, this tree was connected to the past, and it remembered.

He didn't usually frequent Shinto shrines, but today was different. Today he'd been passing by and had the sudden notion to pay a visit.

That girl. There was something about her that made him pause. He shook his head, and tried to focus on the memory of his mother. No such luck. He could just imagine his mother shaking her head at him like she had when he was a child. _So easily distracted, _she used to say with a smile.

Still, there had been something about that girl. She'd been pretty, but her eyes had sparkled when she'd smiled at him. It was as if she'd seen right through him, and she'd smelled incredible. Inuyasha shook his head. It didn't matter, it wasn't likely that he'd ever see her again. Besides, pretty girls didn't usually spend time around guys like him.

He took the steps back down to the street two at a time. The hubbub here was in stark contrast to the calm penetrating silence at the shrine. Noise penetrated from every direction. He had to concentrate to block all of it out, and he was glad that he'd parked his car a few blocks away.

Speak of the devil. Inuyasha couldn't believe his luck. There was the girl from the shrine, strolling down the street toward him, a bag of groceries in hand. He grinned inwardly when she noticed him and smiled in recognition.

"It's my hero." she greeted warmly, shifting her purse on her shoulder.

"It was nothing." he shrugged, feeling his cheeks flush. Her smile widened, her eyes twinkling in the sunlight. There was that look, the one that made him feel like she was seeing right through him.

"You have such pretty silver hair." she murmered, and Inuyasha froze. Maybe she actually could see through him. _Shit._

8

Kagome watched as his face went from calm to panicked. Biting her lip, she wished she hadn't said anything. Her heart began to race. What had she done? He looked absolutely mortified.

"I'm sorry. I- I should go." She fumbled awkwardly with her bag of groceries, dropping her purse. She scooped it up, hoping she hadn't lost too much of her diginity in the process and ran off.

8

Inuyasha watched in stunned shock as she disappeared around the corner. He was about to turn and bolt for his car, until he noticed something glint in the sunlight. A small cell phone in a blue case. Picking it up, he was about to run after her, but thought better of it. In a blur of color, Inuyasha sprinted to his car and jumped in. He would have to return her phone after he got everything sorted out.


End file.
